Monday, March 28, 2011

Blog Week Entry #1: A Tale of Two Yarns

Osprey Pillow!

Welcome to Day 1 of Knitting and Crochet Blog Week - for the next seven days, I'll be blogging about all things knitting-related along with several other bloggers who will be ruminating on the same topics.

Today's topic: Part of any fibre enthusiast’s hobby is an appreciation of yarn. Choose two yarns that you have either used, are in your stash or which you yearn after and capture what it is you love or loathe about them.

As I was knitting with Quince & Company's Osprey Worsted, I couldn't stop exclaiming about how much I was enjoying working with it. The entire time I was knitting my project, I couldn't stop squishing as I went along - I can't think of the last time I've been this ecstatic over a yarn. Besides being easy to work with, the yarn had a fantastic drape to the knitted fabric that stayed that way once it had been blocked. Ultimately, I also love the story behind the yarn. I find it incredibly satisfying to know exactly where your yarn is from, and I like being able to support a 100% U.S.-made product.

A yarn I was excited about but ultimately disappointed in would have to be The Southwest Trading Company's A-Maizing. I bought two balls with the intention of making Amy Singer's Everlasting Bagstopper but abandoned the project about 1/3 of the way through. I liked the unusual fiber content (100% corn), and I thought the sturdy ribbon would be perfect for such a project, since it was sturdy while still being easy to work with. Unfortunately, after coming across three knots in the first hundred or so yards of the ball, I began to get frustrated - then I got to a break in the skein where the fiber was held together literally by a thread. I threw in the towel right then and there! I know in my rational mind that this ball of yarn was an anomaly, but I can't say I've worked with any SWTC since then. Sadly, this project was relegated to the bottom of a drawer for many months til I traded the yarn to someone on Ravelry - unfinished project and all (I didn't even want to frog it!).